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“Well, looks like we found them. Have fun, okay?”
Jo spun around. “What? No way! You saved us! We are sticking to you like glue.”
I pursed my lips. I really didn’t have anything else to do right now. I wasn’t overly interested in the panel Nikki was waiting for and I had no interest whatsoever in watching Charlotte make out with a random Spiderman.
“Okay, sure. But I have to meet my friends eventually. It took a lot to get them to agree to come this year and I’d feel bad if I ditched them.”
They both squealed and hugged me. “Yay! Thank you! Come on, you can meet our friends.”
They tugged me over to the guy who had managed to snag one of the few tables off to the side of the stage. Jo and Gabi sat on either side of me, introducing me to their friend Yuri. He had bright blonde hair, long on top and shaved on the sides, and a mischievous grin. He looked like he might never grow up. And he was so outgoing, it was hard to be awkward around him.
“Where are the others?”
Yuri shrugged. Jo was pulling out her phone to text her friends when Gabi tugged her sleeve, pointing toward the hallway. “Here they come.”
The first guy looked like the typical boy next door. He had dimples and an easy smile as he loped through the crowds towards the table. It was the man behind him that had my heart racing. James had a scowl on his face, his ever present suit looking pristine as always. His hair was longer than I remembered it and his eyes more sharp. He scanned the crowd like he expected someone to jump out and get him. He made it all the way to the table before he faced us and his eyes landed on me.
“Elizabeth?”
I knew my mouth was hanging open but I couldn’t help it. Who would have thought that the guy who broke my heart eighteen months ago would show up at a nerd convention. He wasn’t even into this kind of stuff.
Jo beamed at him. “Hey James! Where’d you go?”
He didn’t answer her. He was staring at me.
“You changed your hair.”
My brow furrowed. No I didn’t… oh wait. “It’s a wig.”
He frowned, scrubbing at his neck. I felt like I couldn’t breathe in that moment. He was every bit as handsome as I remembered and it hurt to be so close to him when I knew he’d walk away. Now I remembered where I knew Jo from. She was the girl who was dating the mafia boss, the one who rigged Professor Stevens’s test. I didn’t recognize her at first because she had her back to me most of the time. Of course, James would be with her, he was there that day too. I lept to my feet, scrambling to get off the bench and away from this situation.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do this. I have to go.”
“Elizabeth, wait!” Jo cried, but I didn’t. Instead, I almost ran through the hall to get away from him. Because I was going to cry and more than anything, I didn’t want him to know how much I missed him.
ChapterSix
I burstthrough the doors at the end of the hall, fighting back sobs. This was ridiculous. I’ve had to remind myself like eight thousand times that we only went out for a week and he was an ass in the end. But I still wanted to bawl like a baby just because I ran into him.
A rough hand grabbed my arm too tight and spun me. For a minute, I thought it was James but James was never rough with me. Instead, it was the bane of my existence. Kyle Donovan is an asshole. He was on the same study abroad program as me but he liked to rub it in my face that he got the whole year there instead of just one semester. He ended up being in a lot of the same classes as me and made friends with a lot of the same people so he was always around when I didn’t want him there.
When we got back to Chicago, he started getting really weird so I blocked him and tried to avoid him. I should have known he’d show up here. He was a bigger anime nerd than I was.
“Hey Lizzy, long time no see.”
Ugh. I hate that nickname. He taught it to our friends in Japan and it stuck no matter how many times I asked them not to use it. I pulled my arm out of his grasp, rubbing the sore spot.
“What do you want, Kyle?”
“Hey, don’t be like that. We used to be good friends in Japan.” No, Kyle. No we weren’t.
“Fine. I’m sorry,” I grumbled. I really didn’t have the patience for him right now. I needed to find my way back to my friends and get the hell out of here. I didn’t want to run into James again.
“That’s more like it. Now look, I remember you being really good at video games, yeah?” He didn’t really give me time to respond before he continued. “There’s a competition in the gaming hall. I think if you enter, we could easily win that prize money.”
I frowned at him. “Those competitions aren’t for advanced players, that’s cheating. Besides, why would I want to help you?”
His face fell and took on a more sinister look. “Because, I have something you want.”
